People & Lifestyle

The original tribal people who lived here are the great
Andamanese, Jarawas, Sentinelese and Onges in the Andaman group, and the
Nicobarese and Shompens in the Nicobar group. Along with them, the
present-day Andaman and Nicobar Islands is home to descendants
of hundreds of prisoners from all parts of India who were constituted the penal
settlement during the British Raj. They are the offspring's of the Moplas
of Malabar deported during the Mopla Rebellion, the Kilafat movement and refugees from
east Pakistan who settled over thirty
years ago with hope for a new life; or ex-servicemen of the Indian Army;
of jobseekers and adventurers from every corner of India.

Settlers

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, more than 50 percent of the population
is made up of settlers from the mainland India. That is why many describe Andamans
as Little India or mini-India. Everyone speaks Hindi no matter which part
of the mainland he comes from. The settlers or ancestors of these settlers came
either prior to 1947 or after 1947.

In the course of seven or eight decades, till about the thirties,
thousands of prisoners form north, south, east and west and central Indian regions
were brought in. Many women came there as prisoners or as relations to liberated
prisoners. Majority of prisoners after serving their term chose to stay
on. There was a lot of social mixing without any inhabitation of traditional
social restraints. There were inter-caste and inter-creed marriages. Thus a
new social order and culture evolved, discarding the values of traditional society
and culture of the mainland.

In the early twenties several hundred Moplas or Mappillas were
deported following the Malabar revolt. Many of them later brought their families
and relatives to settle down in the Andamans. Many villages in South Andamans
are inhabited by them forming a big chunk of Malayalam speaking population there.
In the case of Moplas their traditional life style has not changed much. They
still maintain their separate identity.

Karens migrated in 1925 to work as forest Labourers. Later
they settled down on agricultural land in Middle Andamans. At present some of
them live in separate settlements doing fisherman's job and hunting in Maimyo
and Herbertabad. Many Burmans in Maimyo and Burma after 1966. They too had come
as convicts. The few who remain have preserved their distinct identity. The
Karens are concentrated in webi, Base and Letaw.

Bhantus are a
tribe which robbed people in North and Central India in the early 20th
century. In 1926 a gang of them were sent to Andaman's from Indian Jails.
They had volunteered for the migration. These people and their descendants
now inhabit some villages in South Andaman's and are now leading a
peaceful life as respectable citizens. Growth of such homogeneous
communities in respective pockets were encouraged by the British
administration. Special schools were run for their sake. These helped in
their healthy rehabilitation and survival as such homogeneous group

After
the partition of the country and Independence i.e. after 1947, the influx
has been mainly of Bengalese-refugees from the East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh). Such Bengalese now form the largest single linguistic group
in the territory. These Bengalese refugees are settled in villages in
South, Middle, North and Little Andaman's .Most of them were landless
Labourers and of low caste status. Now as landowners they are doing well.
Each family has been given five acres of cleared land on plains for paddy
cultivation and five acres more of un-cleared land for homestead and
horticultural purposes together with ex-gratia grant of Rs.1050 to each
family. The money was for house building, animals and the rest for seeds.
They have brought the customs and folk culture of their original habitat.
Other Moplas and Malayalis both Hindus and Christians also came after 1947
in search of office jobs. They are working in offices.

Some tribal
people from Chota Nagpur Region have also migrated here in search of jobs.
They are working in Forest, Public works Department, etc. In the past,
during British regime people from Chota Nagpur Tribal belt were brought to
work as forest Labourers. They are hardly and good workers and are in
great demand. Their main settlement is at Baratang in Middle Andamans .

They originally
had belonged to various places and groups like Oraon, Kharia, Munda, Mahli
Turi Ghasi, Cheek and Dom etc. But in Andamans they are labeled as Ranchis
as Ranchi was their recruiting centre. They are a heterogeneous group but
the common factor of tribal life than strings them is their addiction to
traditional Tribal drink called Handia.

The second
largest linguistic group are the people settled from Tamil Nadu. They are
elites from the mainland manning senior positions in Government offices,
enterprises and tourist organizations etc. Various social, cultural and
economic factors are at work to create co-existence of various ethnic
groups in a composite culture.